Best Synth

[TheOne]

Hi

I just wondered what your top synths would be and why...

TheOne

[BongStuff]

What a question!

Well, here are some I'd consider important, and why...

I don't know if I've really answered the question, "best synth". You'd probably be talking one of the latest Roland XV50 boxes or a Korg Triton or something. But the above boxes are what I'd class as my favourites.

  BongStuff

[TheOne]

Hi Bongstuff

A fair question I thought.

I've used an SH101, complete with the twisty thing. Fun with some good sounds but as you say a pain in the ass to program. The DX7 I liked but found it limited in what it could do. I've played with Juno synths of various types and enjoyed them. I liked the D50 and in general like Rolands gear. Unfortunately the only Casio I've spent time with is the VL-tone   classy, simple and utterly useless apart from as a door stop.

What about a profit 2000? Ever used one of them. The most fun I had was with a Fairlight series 3. Not mine so I didn't have any issues, but it was fun!

[Gang_Lu]

Arp Odyssey. How could that bad boy be forgotten. But you know, we might need to sepparate the classes. I love a lot of analog, but there's a few newer digital synths I like as well. One would be the Yamaha Motif. So much functionality, and as far as I can tell, very little bugs. Nord Modular is another one that I love. But you kind of have to go by price and what you're looking for. I think it's more complicated than saying this is the best synth yadda yadda.

[BongStuff]

Prophet 2000. ARP Odyssey. Man - would I love to have been able to write about them! Just never been able to play much with boxes like that. Classix as they are.

I think the most esoteric synth I ever got hold of was an original PPG Wave 2.3 before a mate of mine sold it. I totally BECAME Thomas Dolby for that brief period The bassline to "Windpower" anyone?

But hey, the VL-tone. How could I have forgotten? Still got mine ( somewhere, with my SK1 ). Isn't it just a star on "Get Carter" and "Darkness" from the DARE album?! Or even better LOVE AND DANCING?!

I see a lot of MIDI retrofits going around for it and the SK1. V.tempting...

 BS

[davlan]

Roland JV1080

Although I'm beginning to use soft synths predominantly (Absynth soars?) I remember 10 years ago negotiating with a mate in the pub next door to my local music shop in glasgow (the internet is my local now) about financing this item. At the time I was running a D550, M3R, U20, and a Korg DS8. The JV virtually replace dthe lot. Huge polyphony, Massive library, much less timinh issues than U20, FX, proper FX mixing buss. I could pretty much write and mix tracks within the unit. It sounded better and quieter than everything else in the studio. To my ears these days it sounds a bit samey and the other disgarded gear did help to alleviate this to some extent. It responds velocity wise much more pleasingly than my Proteus 2000 which has a uselessly complicated FX buss. It sounds very Vangelis. Mmmmm

It will always be usefull and has a ton of my own patches in it. A never sell box. A first.

[BongStuff]

old thread resurrection!

Dave - what's a good price on a '1080 these days? Local music shop got one going for 500 quid - unmarked with box manuals etc...I'd heard it was noisy by Y2K+ standards...worth a punt?

   BS

[BongStuff]

ps. it had 2 expansion boards included

[davlan]

Hey Bong.

I checked Digital Village site and they are selling quality controlled B stock 1080's for £500. Not bad for a machine that is over 8 years old.

The 1080 is 16bit throughout and therefore it won't have the inherent quietness of 24bit processing. But when I got mine 8 years ago I noticed that it was the quietest box in the studio. Compared to a D50 this box is quiet.

You might want to check prices on the net as somebody somewhere might be doing a better deal. what are the included boards.

Lastly the JV 1080 worked ou the box perfectly and I have very few complaints other than its sound design capabilities are limited (by soft synth standards)and that it largely is a sample playback machine with filters added on. But still a very complex piece of kit.

Hope this helps